Alabama City Attempts To Secede From County School District

GARDENDALE, AL - AUGUST 4: (L-R) Gardendale "Rockettes" Faith Stancil, Sarah Rogers, Hannah Harris and Anna Grace Dabbs practice with the marching band before school begins next week in Gardendale, AL on August 4, 2016. Gardendale is a small city whose schools are currently part of the surrounding county school system (Jefferson County). City voters decided a few years ago to break away and form their own, independent school system. They said they wanted more local control, but opponents have said that it's a move by a largely white population to isolate themselves from a county with a far higher proportion of black students. A federal judge will have to decide whether to allow the secession to move forward: Jefferson County schools are under a long-running desegregation order, and county officials argue that Gardendale's secession would make it more difficult for them to reach their desegregation goals. (Photo by Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images)